Okay kids. Here it is, game 7 of the ALCS. Anyone else but me incredibly surprised to be here? (Think back to Thursday before the 7th inning and be honest with yourself)
Tonight, Jon Boy takes the mound against Garza. 
We’re putting our best foot forward, I have my lucky shirt, and join my incredibly superstitious friends in keeping my fingers crossed. Look at this survey on the Boston Globe‘s website:
So I was all kinds of cursing TBS last night. I don’t care if you have a power outtage, the Steve Harvey show was a BAD CALL. The Office would have been a little less annoying. So I logged in to all the various websites, watching TBS Hotcorner (which I am not a fan of) listening to WRKO (love them!) and watching gameday pitch-by-pitch. So of course I found myself yelling agrily at BJ Upton before long. I called home and my mother, though I love her, occasionally choses the “hometown” boys over the team that the rest of my family is insane about. Not a very nice thing to do in the regular season, but a cardinal sin in the post-season, especially when facing elimination.
Note on the “hometown”: I graduated high school with Justin Upton (DBacks), BJ’s little brother. BJ did not go to my school, he went to a local private school, though I have met him, David Wright (Mets), and Mike Cuddyer (Twins) – all local boys. Thus, he’s a “local” boy and my mother loves it when anyone from our area does well. I usually do too…just not in the postseason when they’re playing my team.
Back to the game. The Rays lead 1-0, but never fear! Youk is here! Youk launches a solo shot to tie the game. Thank goodness, because with the way both Sheilds and Beckett were pitching, it was going to be a tight one.
Yay for Youk, because he hits a sac-grounder which scores Pedroia on the go-ahead run in the third. Then Becks gives up a solo homer to Bartlett, and we’re tied again in the 5th. But it could have been worse, had the Rays not put on a hit-and-run which allowed Tek to throw out Navarro at second. So we come to the 6th. Two outs, Tek is up. We love the Captain, and watching him struggle is more painful than most players just in a slump. On a 2-0 pitch, Shields hung a fastball to the corner and bam! Tek hit the go-ahead solo homer and the Sox never looked back. 
I mean, if you’re going to have only one hit this series, that was a really great time to do it. It got the Sox pumped up even more and the 2-out rally continued, thanks to an E by Bartlet and some clutch hits from Coco, Dustin, and Papi, who, by the way, hit a double and an RBI single last night.
The bull pen, which came in for the 6th, shut it down. Oki went two beastly innings, Masterson settled down marvelously after hitting a batter, and Paps, even though he looks a little gassed (yipes!) got it done in a big way.
So now there’s one game left. Winner goes to the World Series, loser starts shopping for Halloween costumes. Tonight we hand the ball to the de fecto ace of the team, Jon Lester. To be quite honest with you, win or lose, they have done a GREAT job. And I really feel that if we can hit with men on (stranded TWELVE last night!) and Lester can keep the game under control, we’ll be golden. Though I’d like us to blow them out so Paps can rest. We need him and he needs it.
So good luck Sox, the Nation is behind you.
(Transplanted) Nation 